41-year-old Dara Torres will be one of the major headlines for the U.S. heading into the 2008 Beijing Olympic games, and rightfully so. She 41 and is competing in a sport where you're too young at age 26, and not to mention, looks rather mannish at times.
Unfortunately, with the current sports landscape, all phenomenal athletic feats must be followed by the same question: did he/she cheat to get there?
So naturally, after she broke her own U.S. record in the 50 meter freestyle two days in a row, the doubts were tossed around Sunday papers, among them Jason Whitlock lamenting that only two years ago she could have enjoyed the accomplishments with minimal scrutiny.
Not anymore. While that's disappointing, I've come to expect the constant second-guessing as I do it myself.
To address these discussion head on, Torres joined Matt Lauer on the Today Show Monday morning and provide a straightforward answer:
"Absolutely not," Torres said. "In fact, I've taken a proactive approach. I went to [the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency] and I met with the CEO there, and said, 'Hey, people are talking about me, they can't believe I'm doing this. I'm an open book. DNA test me, blood test me, urine test me, do whatever you want.' I want to show people I'm clean."OK, then, we'll believe her. If you're still a doubter, we suggest you read through her daily workout regime which would put some world-class athletes programs to shame.
HT to MDS at FanHouse
more
